Aging gracefully doesn’t mean looking decades younger than your actual age, but rather focuses on optimizing your health with the help of a variety of tools.
Exercise and diet are both effective strategies and are at the heart of the anti-aging discussion.
Physically, age-related changes in the body result in loss of flexibility, strength, and balance.
Yoga is often touted as an anti-aging tool because it relieves the aches and pains of everyday life.
Yoga protects against oxidative stress
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However, new evidence suggests that yoga’s benefits may also exist at the cellular level.
In a recent episode of the BBC podcast “Just One Thing,” Dr. Mosley detailed the cellular benefits of yoga on the ageing body.
Speaking to Professor Rima Dada of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, he listed some of the new-found benefits of low-impact sports.
“Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell, producing ATP (adenosine triphosphate) for energy,” Lima said.
“Mitochondria tend to accumulate mutations and alterations, which leads to less ATP production, […] This causes tissue function to decline and aging begins.
“Through our research, we found that yoga can improve mitochondrial integrity and nuclear DNA integrity.
“Improved mitochondrial health produces more ATP, more energy, and therefore slows the decline of tissue function.”
She added: “If yoga can improve mitochondrial health, reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, and increase antioxidant capacity, […] By slowing or retarding cellular aging, it reduces our biological age.”
Further research suggests that mind-body practices like yoga may also have beneficial effects on brain function.
Earlier this year, researchers at UCLA found that Kundalini yoga protects the brain from cognitive decline.
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Yoga may slow tissue loss
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Evidence has shown that the practice restores neural pathways in women at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
JJ Virgin, an influencer in her 60s, claims she looks 45 thanks to her weekly yoga practice.
She said: “I do yoga at least once a week, but privately, I count every minute I spend doing it. Yoga is not my favourite thing.”
“I’m also trying new sports.”
